Work While You’re Sick Culture Takes Hold

One in three people are afraid to take time off work for illness, over half say they are treated unsympathetically by colleagues when they’re away sick, and a third believe ill health is preventing them working at peak performance.

All in all a pretty damning indictment of attitudes towards sickness at work in a report released today by the Chartered Management Institute and Simplyhealth called ‘Quality of Working Life’.

The report also found that hours of work were also proving a concern for employees.  Around 45% of the 1500 managers interviewed suggested long hours actually diminished productivity and 48% said it restricted opportunities for professional development.

In general, however, most employees considered the business they worked for did care about their health, it was their line manager who was less than accommodating.

Jo Causon, director, marketing and corporate affairs at the Chartered Management Institute, said:

While many employers bemoan the cost of absence to their organisations, they fail to see the damage done by creating a culture where illness is seen as a weakness.  The risk of mistakes or spreading sickness surely outweighs the short-term benefits of someone turning up for work when not fully fit.